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After starting the month with just a few hundred thousand dollars, they're poised to meet their fundraising requirement of $2.6 million.

With days passing quickly, it was looking less likely that the 78 acres would become a cemetery anytime soon.

And then things changed.

"It's been looked at and worked on for quite some time, but it all seemed to come together right at the last minute," said Sid Williams of the United Veteran's Council of Monterey.

Williams watched in wonder as the funding started to line up. First, Senate Bill 232 was pushed through the state legislature calling for a million dollars to be transferred from the state to the cemetery endowment fund.

The bill sits on Gov. Jerry Brown's desk waiting to be signed or vetoed.

"It would be very significant for an area that has a long tradition with the military being in that area and so many people who have come here because of the involvement in the military," said Assemblyman Mark Stone.

Stone helped move the bill through the state assembly after the state senate passed it unanimously.

"It was one of those ones that was very hard for our colleagues to say no to. Once we made the case of what we were trying to accomplish," Stone said.

Sources close to the fundraising effort said a matching million dollars was pledged from a currently unnamed source, but only if the governor signs the bill.

Then, late last week, David and Lucile Packard offered to contribute an additional $450,000 in the form of a loan and a grant.

Additionally, the cemetery foundation is contributing $164,000 of its own.

If it all happens before Oct. 15, the cemetery foundation will accept a $6.8 million grant from the federal government, for a total of more than $9.4 million, enough to begin construction.

"It's a wonderful step in the right direction," Williams said.

An estimated $15 million more will need to be raised in order to pay for the cemetery's completion.